Biogeomorphology

Attempts to understand the morphodynamics of rock coasts focus on the nature and rate of erosion and how this influences the evolution of coastal profiles over century to millennial timescales. Biological contributions to this process are often ignored or treated in a rather simplistic way as merely producing microscale decreases in rock strength. Using a combination of field observations and literature review, we address two key issues hampering a more rounded assessment of biological impacts erosion of coastal rocks. Firstly, we reconceptualise the biological contributions to erosion of rock coasts into direct and facilitative types, and secondly we discuss the need for more appropriate reporting of rates of bioerosion. For direct bioerosion, this means clearly documenting the percentage of platform surfaces affected by bioerosive agents and quantifying the volume of material eroded and the amount of fine sediment produced. For facilitative bioerosion, we must quantify the roles of biota in changing the material properties of rocks, creating or altering surface morphologies and/or weakening joint boundaries. In this way, facilitative bioerosion is one of several processes mediating geomorphic alteration of rock surfaces, contributing to the production of landforms and/or reducing the resisting force of rock. Subsequently, we build on these ideas to produce a new conceptual model which more accurately portrays the multiple and cross-scalar ways that biological processes, notably bioerosion, influence the resistance of coastal rocks to erosive forces. Such a model provides a stronger basis for numerical modelling and understanding the morphodynamics of rock coasts in the future and allows a quantitative assessment of the role of biota.

Although the geomorphic and ecological importance of large wood in streams and rivers is well recognized, most studies consider only dead wood in channels. However, we have observed that living parts of trees are often found within active channels and that this “livewood” shares functions with both instream dead wood and live riparian trees, while also providing some functions unique to living woody material within a channel. We describe the mechanisms that produce livewood and illustrate its characteristics and influences on riparian and stream ecosystems with examples from Europe, North America, and New Zealand. We hypothesize that, compared with dead wood in channels, livewood (a) persists longer because of greater stability and greater resistance to decay, and (b) imparts greater structural complexity (with associated hydraulic roughness and retentiveness). The phenomenon of livewood implies that a broader range of tree species and sizes than previously considered may contribute functionally important wood to channels. We encourage the study of livewood in a range of forest-stream ecosystems to test our hypotheses and further our understanding of how forests interact with rivers and streams.

This review article presents recent advances in the field of biogeomorphology related to the reciprocal coupling between Earth surface processes and landforms, and ecological and evolutionary processes. The aim is to present to the Earth Science community ecological and evolutionary concepts and associated recent conceptual developments for linking geomorphology and biota. The novelty of the proposed perspective is that (1) in the presence of geomorphologic-engineer species, which modify sediment and landform dynamics, natural selection operating at the scale of organisms may have consequences for the physical components of ecosystems, and particularly Earth surface processes and landforms; and (2) in return, these modifications of geomorphologic processes and landforms often feed back to the ecological characteristics of the ecosystem (structure and function) and thus to biological characteristics of engineer species and/or other species (adaptation and speciation). The main foundation concepts from ecology and evolutionary biology which have led only recently to an improved conception of landform dynamics in geomorphology are reviewed and discussed. The biogeomorphologic macroevolutionary insights proposed explicitly integrate geomorphologic niche-dimensions and processes within an ecosystem framework and reflect current theories of eco-evolutionary and ecological processes. Collectively, these lead to the definition of an integrated model describing the overall functioning of biogeomorphologic systems over ecological and evolutionary timescales.

Keywords: biogeomorphologic feedback landforms biogeomorphologic succession ecosystem engineers niche construction eco-evolutionary dynamics This review article presents recent advances in the field of biogeomorphology related to the reciprocal coupling between Earth surface processes and landforms, and ecological and evolutionary processes. The aim is to present to the Earth Science community ecological and evolutionary concepts and associated recent conceptual developments for linking geomorphology and biota. The novelty of the proposed perspective is that (1) in the presence of geomorphologic-engineer species, which modify sediment and landform dynamics, natural selection operating at the scale of organisms may have consequences for the physical components of ecosystems, and particularly Earth surface processes and landforms; and (2) in return, these modifications of geomorphologic processes and landforms often feed back to the ecological characteristics of the ecosystem (structure and function) and thus to biological characteristics of engineer species and/or other species (adaptation and speciation). The main foundation concepts from ecology and evolutionary biology which have led only recently to an improved conception of landform dynamics in geomorphology are reviewed and discussed. The biogeomorphologic macroevolutionary insights proposed explicitly integrate geomorphologic niche-dimensions and processes within an ecosystem framework and reflect current theories of ecoevolutionary and ecological processes. Collectively, these lead to the definition of an integrated model describing the overall functioning of biogeomorphologic systems over ecological and evolutionary timescales. j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / e a rs c i rev Please cite this article as: Corenblit, D., et al., Feedbacks between geomorphology and biota controlling Earth surface processes and landforms: A review of foundation concepts and current understandings, Earth-Sci. Rev. (2011),

A partir d'une recension de la bibliographie, cet article dresse le bilan des connexions entre la biogéomorphologie et l'étude des croûtes cryptogamiques (CC). Constituées de nombreux lichens, mousses, algues ou cyanobactéries, les croûtes cryptogamiques constituent un écosystème microbien essentiel dans les régions arides et semi-arides et, dans de nombreux cas, y couvrent le sol de façon dominante (Belnap et Lange 2003 ; fig. 1). Les CC jouent également un rôle clé dans l'analyse des changements écologiques à long terme, et plus spécifiquement dans le registre du stockage du gaz carbonique (fig. 2). Leur structure et leur fonction ont fait l'objet de nombreuses recherches et une classification morphologique a même été proposée (fig ) mais peu de tra-vaux ont pris en compte leurs caractéristiques spatiales. La biogéomorphologie, en tant que discipline étudiant les interactions entre les formes de terrain et le vivant, permet de pallier sensiblement cette carence apparente. En retour, cela permettrait de réduire les insuffisances de la discipline soulignées par L. , parce que les CC permettent de tester le modèle holistique bioérosion / bioprotection / bioconstruction proposé par ces auteurs.

A multi-scale and multi-method approach has been developed to evaluate the nature and effects of short-term biological colonisation. This method has been used at Falasarna, on the western coast of Crete, to investigate bioprotection and bioerosion on a microtidal rocky coast. Eighteen blocks of limestone (5 Â 5 Â 2 cm) were exposed for 7 months (September 1998 to April 1999) at mean sea level at two exposed sites and one sheltered site. Biological colonization and its impacts were assessed by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and multiphoton laser scanning microscopy (MPLSM). Exposed sites became colonized more quickly than the sheltered site and once a cover of foliose and filamentous algae had become established, bioerosion (by cyanobacteria), biological etching and chemical weathering were reduced. Consequently, there appears to be an inverse relationship between macroalgal abundance and bioerosion of experimental substrata after 7 months of colonisation. Thus, some level of bioprotection appears to be provided by macro algae under exposed site conditions and would probably become increasingly apparent in longer-term research trials. D

Karst caves are unique biogeomorphological systems. Cave walls offer habitat for microorganismswhich in-turn
have a geomorphological role via their involvement in rock weathering, erosion and mineralisation. The
attenuation of light with distance into caves is known to affect ecology, but the implications of this for
biogeomorphological processes and forms have seldom been examined. Here we describe a semi-quantitative
microscopy study comparing the extent, structure, and thickness of biocover and depth of endolithic penetration
for samples of rock from the Puerto Princesa Underground River system in Palawan, the Philippines, which is a
natural UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
Organic growth at the entrance of the cave was abundant (100% occurrence) and complex, dominated by
phototrophic organisms (green microalgae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, mosses and lichens). Thickness of this
layer was 0.28 ± 0.18 mm with active endolith penetration into the limestone (mean depth = 0.13 ±
0.03 mm). In contrast, phototrophs were rare 50 m into the cave and biofilm cover was significantly thinner
(0.01 ± 0.01 mm, p b 0.000) and spatially patchy (33% occurrence). Endolithic penetration here was also
shallower (b0.01mm, p b 0.000) and non-uniform. Biofilm was found 250 m into the cave, but with a complete
absence of phototrophs and no evidence of endolithic bioerosion.
We attribute these findings to light-induced stress gradients, showing that the influence of light on phototroph
abundance has knock-on consequences for the development of limestone morphological features. In marine
caves this includes notches, which were most well-developed at the sheltered cave entrance of our study site,
and for which variability in formation rates between locations is currently poorly understood.

Glacier forefields are dynamic environments dominated by active paraglacial processes and simultaneous vegetation succession, triggered by glacier retreat since the Little Ice Age. While these dynamics are accelerating in the last decades owing to climate change, interactions between vegetation and geomorphic processes and components and the resulting patterns are only partly understood. Using a biomorphic approach based on preexisting geomorphic and glaciological data, geomorphic activity was classified and mapped in the Turtmann glacier forefield, Switzerland. Vegetation and environmental parameters were sampled. Vegetation analysis was subsequently carried out with vegetation classification and ordination for identifying relationships to environmental parameters. A paraglacial impact on vegetation succession could be shown and differentiated according to geomorphic activity on constant terrain age. Biogeomorphic concepts were then applied to explain these patterns. Three biogeomorphic succession phases were identified and related to degrees of activity, species composition, and strength of interactions. Integrating our results into the paraglacial concept, we show how the paraglacial adjustment of a glacier forefield is significantly affected by biogeomorphic interactions.

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Although the ecosystem engineering concept is well established in ecology, cases of joint engineering by multiple species at large scales remain rare. Here, we combine observational studies and exclosure experiments to investigate how co-occurring greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus and fiddler crabs Uca tangeri promote their own and each other’s food availability by creating a spatially complex mosaic of depressions (bowls, gullies) and hummocks (plateaus, mounds) in the intertidal zone. This results in a mosaic of microhabitats with different tidal inundation regimes. These microhabitats are spatially organized with labyrinth-like patterns in the high intertidal zone and spotted patterns in the lower intertidal, both of which likely arise from biophysical interactions between these organisms and hydrodynamic forces. We show that the resulting spatial complexity is vital for biofilm production. The depression microhabitats were wetter and richer in organic matter and biofilms compared with hummocks. Excluding flamingos and crabs resulted in an increase in biofilm biomass over the shorter term (six months), but a decrease over the longer term (after one year). Moreover, our results strongly suggest that these biogeomorphological microhabitats in the mosaics were maintained by the feeding activities of flamingos and to a lesser extent crabs. During a period of flamingo exclusion, all the spotted patterns filled up with sediment, while the exclusion of crabs led to gradual sediment accumulation in the labyrinth-like patterns. Collectively, these findings provide empirical evidence for large-scale joint promotion of food availability by multiple taxa in a marine ecosystem

Die Erforschung der Vegetationsdynamik hat in der jüngeren Vergangenheit zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen. Die inzwischen vorliegende Menge an einschlägigen Theorien und detaillierten Studien erfordert heute zumindest den Versuch eines systematischen Ansatzes. Dieser Aufsatz konzentriert sich auf Prozesse bei der Regeneration von Pflanzengemeinschaften, insbesondere  nach natürlichen Störungen. Anhand von vier etablierten Konzepten  (Mosaikzykluskonzept, Kohortendynamik, Lückendynamik, Karussellmodell) wird eine Typologie von Regenerationsprozessen aufgestellt. Als Raum-Zeit-Dimensionen und in Bezug auf die jeweiligen Formationen und Störungsregime können Karusselldynamiken auf Mikroebene, Lückendynamiken auf Mesoebene und Kohortendynamiken auf Makroebene unterschieden werden. Dieser Ansatz führt zu Reflexionen zur Charakterisierung typischer Störungsregime und Regenerationsprozesse für jede Ökozone, wodurch eine Geographie natürlicher Störungen skizziert wird. Die identifizierten Störungsregime und ihre geschätzten Auswirkungen auf verschiedene Umweltzonen und Biome sind in einer Tabelle nach Schultz (1990, 1995) zusammengefasst.

Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland (TSNW) is the largest wetland in Costa Rica located in the southeastern part of the country. The protected area comprises the Térraba-Sierpe delta covered with dense mangrove vegetation. We aim to analyze the geomorphological evolution of the coastal bars and the land use/cover change between 1948 and 2012 using aerial photographs and satellite images interpretation as well as field corroboration. We determined the geomorphological dynamics of three coastal bars (supratidal, intertidal, and subtidal), ten land uses/covers, and deforestation rates of six delta mouths for 64 years. In addition, we estimated a net periodic loss by deforestation between 1948 and 2012 exceeding 2562 ha, with an annual net loss of 40 ha per year. Moreover, these outputs quantify the anthropic impact over 40 years and give good evidence from an example of environmental policies implementation since the 1990s to protect these fragile tropical ecosystems.

ABSTRACT
Natural disturbances are the main drivers of pristine vegetation dynamics in humid high mountains such as the European Alps. The concept of natural disturbance provides an appropriate background for studying vegetation dynamics in this type of environment. While permanently disturbed plant communities are basically driven by exogenous factors (e.g. rockfall, wind, avalanches, etc.), some subalpine and alpine plant communities include sites that are barely influenced by exogenous drivers. In order to estimate the ratio between exogenous and endogenous vegetation dynamics and its relevance for plant diversity it is important to decipher vegetation pattern, process and mechanism at one site. Typical ecosystems of the European Alps - alpine sedge mat (Carex curvula dominated, Curvuletum), alpine heathland (Loiseleuria procumbens dominated, Loiseleurietum) and subalpine forest (Larix decidua dominated, Laricetum) - were selected to explore the driving forces of vegetation dynamics with special reference to natural disturbance (e.g. cryoturbation, bioturbation, solifluction, rockfall, wind, etc.). Study sites include the Glatzbach catchment (Tyrolia, Austria), the Lys glacier forefield (Valle di Gressoney, Aosta, Italy), and the Saualpe (Carinthia, Austria). This work was carried out throughout the 1990s and represents the first empirical study on disturbance driven vegetation dynamics in the European Alps.

Wave flume facilities that are primarily designed for engineering studies are often complex and expensive to operate, and hence not ideal for long-term replicated experiments as commonly used in biology. This study describes a low-cost small wave flume that can be used for biological purposes using fresh-or seawater with or without sediment. The wave flume can be used as a mesocosm to study interactions between wave hydrodynamics and benthic organisms in aquatic ecosystems. The low-costs wave maker (< 2000 USD) allows for experimental setups which can be easily replicated and used for longer term studies; hence the term wave mesocosm. Waves were generated with a pneumatic piston and wave heights ranged between 3 and 6 cm. Maximum orbital flow velocities ranged between 10 and 50 cm s −1 representing shallow coastal areas with a short fetch. The system can generate both regular waves (i.e., the wave period and orbital velocity remains constant), using a wave absorber, and irregular waves (i.e., varying wave period and orbital velocity) using a fast push and slow pull motion of the wave paddle. This wave mesocosm system is particularly useful in biogeomorphology to quantify interactions between organisms, sediment, and hydrodynamics and for aquatic ecologist aiming to simulate realistic bed shear stress where short-and long-term experiments (weeks-months) can be replicated.

River reaches upstream from dam reservoirs, where water level fluctuations occur due to backwater effects, may be utilized as a field laboratory of base-level rise effects on river morphology. Here I present the results of the aerial photo-based (1963-2012) reconstruction of the long-term morphological adjustments of the small, gravel-bed Smolnik River in the backwater of the Ro˙ znów Reservoir (1941) (Southern Poland). Channel narrowing and the formation of a relatively stable single-thread, high sinuosity channel with densely vegetated banks were observed in this zone due to forced fine and coarse sediments deposition connected with the backwater effects of the reservoir. This study has shown that specific river morphology may relatively quickly develop in the backwater zones of dam reservoirs as an effect of disturbances in the sediment and water transport connected with the base-level rise. This study also suggests that long-term river morphological adjustments in the backwater seem to be significantly controlled by the dynamic feedback between the fine sediments deposition and vegetation expansion that facilitate the development and maintenance of a single-thread, high sinuosity channel.

W ood-including trees, logs, rootwads, and branchesperforms numerous geomorphic and ecological functions in streams and rivers throughout the world (Harmon et al. 1986, Gregory et al. 2003a). Recognizing the significant influence wood exerts on river ecology, the US National Research Council concluded, "Perhaps no other structural component of the environment is as important to salmon habitat as is large woody debris" (NRC 1996, p. 194). Massive single logs or aggregations of wood, called jams, can strongly influence the morphology of channelsranging from headwater streams to large rivers-by inducing step and pool formation, sediment deposition, channel avulsion, and island formation (Montgomery et al. 1995, 2003, Abbe and Montgomery 1996). Wood in stream channels-henceforth referred to as "streamwood"-serves important ecological functions, strongly linked to its geomorphic functions, such as trapping and retaining organic matter, thus providing habitat complexity and increasing the food supply for aquatic animals (Bilby and Likens 1980, Muotka and Laasonen 2002). Streamwood can be particularly important as habitat in sand-bed streams that lack gravel or other hard, stable substrates (Benke and Wallace 2003). Wood jams provide fish and crayfish with shelter from high flows and cover from predators (Murphy et al. 1986, Shirvell 1990, Giannico 2000). Research on and management of streamwood has previously considered dead material almost exclusively (e.g., Krajick 2001). Field sampling protocols often limit data collection to dead wood (see examples cited in Opperman 2005), and typically assign wood pieces to a decay class that assumes the wood is dead (e.g., Robison and Beschta 1990). However, in a variety of forested streams worldwide, we have observed that streamwood can sometimes be living (figures 1, 2; Opperman 2005, Francis et al. 2006). In this article we introduce the term "livewood" and define it, then illustrate its characteristics and influences on riparian and stream ecosystems through case studies from Europe, North America, and New Zealand. We demonstrate that livewood performs a range of functions in channels, sharing some of the functions of both dead wood in streams and live

Urbanisation is increasingly recognised as a major ecological pressure at the coast. By 2035, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will have to spend £1 billion each year on flood defence and erosion control infrastructure if current levels of protection are to be sustained in England and Wales; this represents a substantial commitment to building new hard structures. Ecological research has shown that structures like seawalls, breakwaters, and harbour and port infrastructure are poor surrogates for undisturbed rocky shores. This, alongside substantial international policy drivers, has led to an interest in the ways in which structures might be enhanced for ecological gain. Virtually all of this research has been undertaken by ecologists, while the contribution of geomorphological understanding has not been fully recognised. This thesis presents an assessment of the two-way interactions between colonising organisms and the materials used to build hard coastal structures under a framework of biogeomorphology. The influence of material type and small-scale surface texture on early colonisation is assessed alongside detailed observations of the ways in which biota are involved in the alteration of substratum properties and behaviours through weathering and erosion in the intertidal zone. The research demonstrates that biotic (organisms) and abiotic (material substrata) components of coastal structures are inherently linked at various spatial and temporal scales through complex biogeomorphic interactions and feedbacks. Importantly, these interactions have consequences for the subsequent operation of ecological and geomorphological processes that are of relevance to urban marine ecology, weathering and rock coast geomorphology, and engineering. This thesis demonstrates the considerable potential to manipulate substratum-biota interactions on artificial structures for ecological gain, both directly and indirectly. More broadly, the explicitly interdisciplinary methodological approach adopted shows the value and necessity of integrated research for achieving useful, applied outcomes. ABBREVIATIONS ANOVA Analysis of Variance BEI Backscattered Electron Imaging BRE Building Research Establishment

Sedentary and mobile organisms grow profusely on hard substrates within the coastal zone and contribute to the deterioration of coastal engineering structures and the geomorphic evolution of rocky shores by both enhancing and retarding weathering and erosion. There is a lack of quantitative evidence for the direction and magnitude of these effects. This study assesses the influence of globally-abundant intertidal organisms, barnacles, by measuring the response of limestone, granite and marine-grade concrete colonised with varying percentage covers of Chthamalus spp. under simulated intertidal conditions. Temperature regimes at 5 and 10 mm below the surface of each material demonstrated a consistent and statistically significant negative relationship between barnacle abundance and indicators of thermal breakdown. With a 95% cover of barnacles, subsurface peak temperatures were reduced by 1.59°C for limestone, 5.54°C for concrete and 5.97°C for granite in comparison to no barnacle cover. The amplitude of short-term (15-30 min) thermal fluctuations was also buffered by 0.70°C in limestone, 1.50°C in concrete and 1.63°C in granite. Furthermore, concentrations of potentially damaging salt ions were consistently lower under barnacles in limestone and concrete. These results indicate that barnacles do not enhance, but likely reduce rates of mechanical breakdown on rock and concrete by buffering near-surface thermal cycling and reducing salt ion ingress. In these ways, we highlight the potential value of barnacles as agents of bioprotection. These findings support growing international efforts to enhance the ecological value of coastal structures by facilitating their colonisation (where appropriate) through design interventions.

Sedentary and mobile organisms grow profusely on hard substrates within the coastal zone and contribute to the deterioration of coastal engineering structures and the geomorphic evolution of rocky shores by both enhancing and retarding weathering and erosion. There is a lack of quantitative evidence for the direction and magnitude of these effects. This study assesses the influence of globally-abundant intertidal organisms, barnacles, by measuring the response of limestone, granite and marine-grade concrete colonised with varying percentage covers of Chthamalus spp. under simulated, temperate intertidal conditions. Temperature regimes at 5 and 10mm below the surface of each material demonstrated a consistent and statistically significant negative relationship between barnacle abundance and indicators of thermal breakdown. With a 95% cover of barnacles, subsurface peak temperatures were reduced by 1.59°C for limestone, 5.54°C for concrete and 5.97°C for granite in comparison to no ba...

The stability of many sand dunes and their interdunes is dependent on 41 vegetation and surface crust cover. When this cover is removed, the sand 42 can be activated and fine sediments deflated making the dunefields into 43 sources of dust. This paper reports the impact of devegetation by wildfire on 44 an interdune in the Simpson Desert, Australia. The fire occurred in 2001 and 45 six years after the event pronounced differences between a pair of burnt and 46 unburnt sites was clearly discernible. The variables examined included 47 vegetation assemblage, cyanobacteria abundance and sediment aggregation, 48 particle-size distribution and colour; but whether they apply to all such 49 situations is uncertain. Rate of recovery has been slow and the differences 50 are likely to have been sustained by a combination of negative feedback 51 processes and climate.

Özet
Biyoloji ile jeomorfoloji arasındaki etkileşim olarak tanımlanan biyojeomorfoloji ile ilgili çalışmalar, bitkiler konusunda son yıllarda gerçekleştirilen araştırmalarda ön plana geçmiştir. Dünyadaki karaların dörtte birini kaplayan dağ ekosistemleri diğer habitatlardan oldukça farklıdır. Biyoçeşitlilik bakımından çok zengin olan bu alanların kendilerine özgü ekosistemleri bulunur. Dağ alanlarının jeomorfolojik özelliklerinin bitki örtüsü üzerindeki etkisi çeşitli jeomorfometrik parametreler yardımıyla tespit edilebilir. Bu çalışmada Türkiye’nin ve bilhassa Trakya Yarımadası’nın önemli bir dağlık kütlesi olan Ganos (Işıklar) Dağı’nın biyojeomorfolojik özelliklerinin açıklanması amaçlanmıştır. Bu açıklama temel jeomorfolojik parametreler olarak değerlendirilebilecek olan yerşekilleri, eğim ve bakı özellikleri ile bitki örtüsü arasındaki ilişkisinin incelenmesi şeklinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma amacı çerçevesinde “Ganos Dağı’nın jeomorfolojik özellikleri nasıldır? Bu dağda hangi yerşekillerine rastlanır? Bu yerşekilleri ile bitki örtüsü arasında nasıl bir ilişki vardır?” şeklindeki araştırma sorularına yanıtlar aranmıştır. Ganos Dağı’nın bitki türleri bakımından cins ve takson boyutunda çeşitlilik sunması çalışmanın önemini arttırmaktadır. Çeşitli materyallerin kullanıldığı çalışmada yöntem olarak yerşekilleri, eğim ve bakı özellikleri sınıflandırılarak bitki örtüsüyle ilişkilendirilmiştir. Çalışmadaki verilerin dağılışı ve haritalandırması, CBS (Coğrafi Bilgi Sistemleri) teknikleriyle ArcInfo/ArcMap 10.3 paket programı kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, Ganos Dağı’nda yerşekilleri, eğim ve bakı özelliklerinin bitki örtüsü çeşitliliğini etkileyen temel jeomorfolojik kıstaslar olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Bu dağ üzerinde bulunan DII aşınım yüzeylerin, eğimli dik yamaçların (% 10.01-40) ve güneye bakan yönlerin bitki çeşitliliği bakımından daha fazla türü barındırdığı tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışma, CBS destekli olarak gerçekleştirilen biyojemorfolojik çalışmalarla daha sistematik veriler üretebileceğini göstermiştir. Ayrıca ulaşılan sonuçlar CBS’nin benzer araştırmalarda etkin karar vermeye yardımcı araç olarak kullanılabileceğini de ortaya çıkarmıştır.

Abstract
Studies on biogeomorphology, which is defined as the interaction between biology and geomorphology, have dominated the research on plants in recent years. Mountains, which cover one-fourth of lands in the world, are quite different from other habitats. These areas which are very rich in biodiversity have their own unique ecosystems. The effects of geomorphological features of mountain areas on vegetation cover can be determined through various geomorphometric parameters. This study aims to explain the biogeomorphological features of the Ganos (Işıklar) Mount, which is an important massif of Turkey and Thrace in particular. This explanation involves the examination of the relationship between vegetation cover and such basic geomorphological parameters as landforms, slope, and aspect. The study attempts to answer the following questions: What are the geomorphological features of the Ganos Mount? What landforms exist on this mount? What sort of a relationship is there between these landforms and vegetation cover? The present study is significant because the Ganos Mount offers variety of plant species and taxonomy. Various materials were used in the study for data collection. Landform, slope, and aspect features were classified and associated with vegetation cover. The research data were distributed and mapped via ArcInfo/ArcMap 10.2 through GIS (Geographic Information Systems) techniques. It was concluded that landform, slope, and aspect features of the Ganos Mountain are the basic geomorphological factors influential on the diversity of vegetation cover there. It was found that DII erosion surfaces, steep slopes (10.01-40%), and southward aspects on this mountain contain more species in terms of plant diversity. This study indicated that GIS-supported biogeomorphological studies may provide more systematic data. In addition, the research results showed that GIS may be used in similar studies as a tool for making effective decisions.

The way in which rocks and engineering materials heat-up and dry-out in the intertidal zone is of relevance to both weathering and ecology. These behaviours can be measured in the laboratory under controlled conditions designed to replicate those occurring in the field. Previous studies have demonstrated differences in thermal behaviours between rock types and through time as a result of soiling in terrestrial environments, but the influence of weathering and colonization on rock behaviours in the intertidal zone has not been previously assessed. We measured the warming and drying of blocks of rock (limestone and granite) and marine concrete during 'low-tide' events simulated in the laboratory, before and after a period of exposure (eight months) on rock platforms in Cornwall, UK. As well as differences between the material types, temperatures of control (unexposed) and field-exposed blocks differed in the order of 1 to 2 C. Drying behaviours were also different after field exposure. Differences during the first few hours of exposure to air and heat were attributed to discolouration and albedo effects. Over longer periods of time, changes in the availability of near-surface pore water as a result of micro-scale bioerosion of limestone and the development of biochemical crusts on marine concrete [observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)] are suggested as mechanisms enhancing and reducing, respectively, the efficiency of evaporative cooling. The retention of moisture by epilithic biofilms may also influence thermal and drying behaviours of granite. These observations represent one of the first examples of cross-scalar biogeomorphic linkages in the intertidal zone. The significance of the results for the subsequent efficiency of weathering, and near-surface micro-climatic conditions experienced by colonizing organisms is discussed. The involvement of microorganisms in the creation of more (or less) ecologically stressful conditions through the alteration of substratum geomorphic properties and behaviours is suggested as an example of 'biogeomorphic ecosystem engineering'.

The spatial distribution and pattern of alpine treeline in the American West reflect the overarching influences of geological history, lithology and structure, and geomorphic processes and landforms. These influences occur at spatial scales ranging from the continental scale to fine scale processes and landforms at the slope scale. Past geomorphic influences, particularly Pleistocene glaciation, have also left their impact on treeline, and treelines across the west are still adjusting to post-Pleistocene conditions. Digging by animals illustrates a slope-scale set of processes that impact treeline and that should be examined in detail in future studies to facilitate a better understanding of where individual tree seedlings become established.

Karst caves are unique biogeomorphological systems. Cave walls offer habitat for microorganisms which in-turn have a geomorphological role via their involvement in rock weathering, erosion and mineralisation. The attenuation of light with distance into caves is known to affect ecology, but the implications of this for biogeomorphological processes and forms have seldom been examined. Here we describe a semi-quantitative microscopy study comparing the extent, structure, and thickness of biocover and depth of endolithic penetration for the Puerto Princesa Underground River system in Palawan, the Philippines, which is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Organic growth at the entrance of the cave was abundant (100% occurrence) and complex, dominated by phototrophic organisms (green microalgae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, mosses, and lichens). Thickness of this layer was 0.28 ± 0.18 mm with active endolith penetration into the limestone (mean depth = 0.13 ± 0.03 mm). In contrast, phototrophs were rare 50 m into the cave and biofilm cover was significantly thinner (0.01 ± 0.01 mm, p < 0.000) and spatially patchy (33% occurrence). Endolithic penetration here was also shallower (< 0.01 mm, p < 0.000) and non-uniform. Biofilm was found 250 m into the cave, but with a complete absence of phototrophs and no evidence of endolithic bioerosion. We attribute these findings to light-induced stress gradients, showing that the influence of light on phototroph abundance has knock-on consequences for the development of limestone morphological features. In marine caves this includes notches, which were most well-developed at the sheltered cave entrance of our study site, and for which variability in formation rates between locations are currently poorly understood.

An abundance of moisture, salts and organic life make rock coasts a unique weathering environment. Here, mechanical and chemical processes act to break down rocks alongside the influence of waves, tides and geological factors. Organisms concurrently break down (bioweathering and bioerosion) and protect (bioprotection) coastal rocks in direct and indirect ways, enhancing or impeding other inorganic modes of decay. Some species also build physical structures (bioconstruction) that have geomorphological and ecological consequences. Studies of particular weathering processes are well represented in the British Isles, and demonstrate both the overriding controls of lithology and tidal position. The complexities arising from the interactive and combined influences of different processes are also evident. Biogenic processes are of greatest importance for the geomorphology of carbonate rock coasts and cohesive shores in Britain and Ireland, but weathering is largely secondary to waves in the evolution of harder rock coasts. The importance of typically fine-scale rock breakdown in facilitating larger-scale erosion is recognized, however, but warrants more attention, and the value of interdisciplinary and applied weathering research on rock coasts is stressed.